Quantum Computing is Future: A Brief
Let’s dive into the quantum realm and see what this new technology has to offer mankind.
As we dive into the quantum realm of computing, before that let’s first try to lay the foundation blocks of our knowledge about Quantum Computing, it is a newly emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems that are too complex for our modern-day computers. The problems in this context are those that can take the age of our universe to get solved, even if we use the most powerful supercomputer of the day. And hopefully, we don’t want to wait till then to get the desired outputs, right?
Quantum Computing is that branch of computer science that works on similar principles on which our nature works and carries out its essential processes. Concepts of Quantum Mechanics, such as Superposition, Entanglement, etc are the building blocks of this emerging and burgeoning technology.
Why do we need Quantum Computers?
Have you ever wondered, what if we could have found the vaccine and antidote to the Coronavirus within certain weeks instead of the year that we took, how many precious lives we could have saved? And not just Coronavirus but, what if I tell you that we could find the antidote/ vaccine to all the incurable diseases whether that’s Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer, etc, that too within weeks. Yes, that’s possible with quantum computers.
Also, while surfing the internet or searching for a product, you start getting similar ads on your smartphone, and you start feeling being monitored all the time. Whatsoever precautions we take there is always a fear of becoming a victim of cybercrime, that’s mainly because the online space we are in has become so insecure and prone to cyber frauds and hacking that anyone could become a victim.
But, that’s actually not going to be the case with the application of quantum computing in cryptography. Since Quantum computing works on the principles of nature, that would make it impossible for any hacker to get access to the systems, as in order to do so, one has to go beyond the principle of physics and nature, which is not possible.
The evolution of quantum computing can also leverage space research and can help us understand the facts that are yet to be discovered by human civilization. In theory, a quantum computer with 300 qubits(Quantum Bits) fully devoted to computing could perform more calculations in an instant than there are atoms in the visible universe (the present quantum computer at IBM has 433 qubits). It is also expected that quantum computing can also accelerate our search for extraterrestrial life and will lead to the overall growth of mankind.
Apart from these applications, quantum computing finds its usage in almost all fields whether that be material science, space exploration, battery manufacturing, machine learning, logistics optimization, resource management, finance modeling, artificial intelligence, solar capture, and so on.
What are the specific principles of quantum mechanics that make quantum computing possible?
Quantum Computers are known to harness the potential and benefits associated with the study of Quantum Mechanics. Our modern-day computers work on bits (0s and 1s) to do all the computation and to store our data, whereas in quantum computers the same computations are carried out by Quantum Bits (or Qubits). And with these qubits, it is possible for us to take advantage of some fundamental principles known as Superposition and Entanglement, which also form the basis of quantum computers.
Superpositions in qubits make the computation power of quantum computers exponentially high when compared to classical computers, as the classical bits can either be only in one state at a time (either 1 or 0), whereas qubits can take both states at the same time. This feature of qubits enables them to form more combinations, resulting in higher computation power.
Entanglement is yet another interesting phenomenon of quantum mechanics that can be observed with qubits. A pair of entangled qubits makes them share information between them in no time, that is if we measure one of the qubits, then we are sure about the information in another qubit from the entangled pair, and if we change the information in one of the qubits, other qubit gets transformed on itself according to the changes done on its counterpart, that too in no time. This phenomenon enables new communication technology to emerge out of this umbrella of Quantum Computing.
Comparison between Classical and quantum computers based on speed
As quantum computers work on different fundamentals as compared to our present-day computers, it would be irrelevant to compare the two in certain metrics. Though quantum computers take leverage from superposition, which increases their computation power, but still our classical computers can do certain tasks better than quantum computers. When the complexity of the problem increases to a certain level classical computers can perform better than quantum computers but as it goes beyond, quantum computers are the only solution. The figure below can be indicative of the time scaling with both computers,
Why is there a race for Quantum advantage?
Quantum Computing is still in its initial phase and researchs are happening to mitigate the error that corresponds to the output and running of quantum computers. Quantum Advantage is a phase in developing this technology when the error is minimized and we can shift to quantum computers for our complex problems.
Quantum Computing has a lot to offer to almost every field of science and technology, and understanding this opportunity, many businesses are already investing and providing their part in the development of this extraordinary technology. Startups from different parts of the world are also emerging and doing research in the development of efficient software and hardware.
Not just businesses, but also there is a race between nations to produce the first fully functional quantum computer. All the countries are funding and promoting research in this field to establish an ecosystem for the development of quantum computing that can compete with the quantum advancements being made in other countries.
The first nation or the startup or the business that will leverage quantum advantage would become the world leader in quantum technology, which is the main reason why everyone is up for this Quantum Advantage Race.
And yes, that’s all from my side this time. I hope you got a brief about this newly emerging and burgeoning technology, and if so kindly consider clapping for this article!
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Today’s Quote
Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge.
By — Thomas Edison
I really like this quote by Sir Thomas Edison, do you?
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